Elara turned to Bernard, leaving the decision to him.

Bernard smiled. “We’ll be there.”

A short distance away, the king and Brandon stood beside one of the convoy vehicles, deep in conversation. Across the garden, High Luna Alexandra and Emma laughed over something only they seemed to find amusing. Maelis gathered the used plates with the maids, and before long, the garden grew quiet again.

The following moonrise,Bernard sat on the edge of the bed and gently brushed a few loose strands of hair away from Elara’s face.

“Silverheart,” he said softly. “Time to wake up.”

She let out a sleepy murmur, turned onto her side, and pulled the blanket up a little higher.

“Five more minutes.”

A smile tugged at Bernard’s lips as he looked down at her. “You said that five minutes ago.”

“I know.” She didn’t bother opening her eyes. A faint smile crossed her face. “I’m saying it again.”

A quiet laugh escaped him as he brushed his thumb across the back of her hand.

“If I let you, we’ll still be here at highmoon.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

He shook his head, amused, then gently tugged on her hand. “Come on. We have somewhere to be.”

She gave his hand a light squeeze before letting it slip from hers. “Cancel it.”

“I don’t think we can.”

One of her eyes slowly opened. “Why not?”

“Because we’re supposed to visit the Crowe family today.”

Her other eye snapped open, and she stared at him for a second.

“The Crowes?”

Bernard nodded. “Mr. Crowe invited us over. Remember?”

“Oh no.”

She threw the blanket aside, swung her legs over the edge of the bed, and hurried toward the bathchamber.

Bernard watched her with a grin.

“I tried waking you earlier.”

She stopped at the doorway and looked back over her shoulder.

“You should’ve started with that.”

A chuckle slipped from him. “I’ll remember it next time.”

She pointed a finger at him before disappearing into the bathchamber.

“You’d better.”

She disappeared into the bathchamber, and Bernard laughed as he headed for the closet to get dressed.

A few minutes later, Bernard and Elara drove to the Crowe estate. The family welcomed them so warmly that it felt as though the royal mating had already begun.

A few minutes later, Mr. Crowe walked into the lounge with a file in his hand.

“Take a look at this.”

He handed the file to Bernard before taking a seat on the sofa.

Bernard opened it while Elara leaned closer, and together they began turning the pages.

The Crowe Family Winery was one of the largest wine and juice producers in the kingdom. Known for its premium wines and natural fruit juices, the company had built a reputation that stretched far beyond the kingdom’s borders.

Founded by Author Crowe generations ago, it remained a privately owned company with a market capitalization of forty billion U.S. dollars and an estimated market value of thirty-two billion. Its branches operated in more than twenty countries.

Mr. Crowe waited while Bernard and Elara skimmed through the file.

“You’ll find the company’s history in there,” he said with a smile. “It covers everything—from the winter it was founded to where it stands today. Take your time, and if you have any questions, ask me.”

Bernard turned another page, then froze. His eyes lifted to Mr. Crowe.

“This… this is your company.”

Mr. Crowe nodded.

“It is. And I’m giving it to you.” He tapped the last few pages of the file. “The ownership transfer documents are already attached. Once you add Crowe to your name, everything will be official.”

Bernard slowly lowered the file onto the table and rose from the sofa. He looked at Mr. Crowe, then shook his head with a quiet laugh.

“What’s wrong?” Mr. Crowe asked, smiling.

Bernard rested his hands on his hips.

“I don’t even know what to say.” He laughed again and shook his head. “You’re the best grandfather in the world.”

Mr. Crowe’s grin widened.

“That’s a title I’m proud to have.”

He opened his arms.

Bernard and Elara laughed and hurried over, wrapping him in a tight hug.

While laughter filled the Crowe residence, the mood at Nightclaw Estate was much quieter. Brandon and Emma had decided to put work aside for the day and simply enjoy each other’s company. Their royal duties had kept pulling them in different directions, and they both knew they needed this time together.

Brandon held Emma in his arms as he carefully pulled out his device.

Emma caught his wrist before he could dial a number.

“You promised me your full attention today,” she said, pouting.

“I know. I just need Bernard to unlock the chip.”

“That call can wait.” Her fingers tightened around his wrist.

Brandon leaned over and kissed her before giving her a pleading look.

She let out a quiet sigh and finally released him.

He slipped the chip into his pocket, picked up his device, and made a call.

Meanwhile, Bernard and Elara returned to the Silverville Estate at noon. Bernard went straight to his study, while Elara made her way to the cookhouse to see how everything was going.

Bernard flipped through another stack of documents on his desk, signed the last page, and reached for the next file without looking up.

Elara stood beside the desk with her arms folded.

“You’ve been at this for hours.”

“I’m almost done,” Bernard said, his eyes still on the paperwork.

“You’ve been saying that for the past hour.”

He smiled faintly. “This time I mean it.”

She leaned over the desk, closed the file he had just reached for, and rested her hand on it.

“Five minutes.”

“Silverheart…”

“I’m serious. Get up, stretch, have something to drink, then come back.”

He looked up at her. “The paperwork won’t finish itself.”

“And neither will you if you keep working like this.”

A quiet laugh escaped him.

“You’re starting to sound like Emma.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Bernard shook his head. “I just have a few more files.”

“You said that ten files ago.”

Before he could answer, his device buzzed across the desk.

He picked it up and glanced at the screen.

“Alpha Brandon.”

Elara stepped back. “You’d better answer.”

Bernard accepted the call and raised the device to his ear.

“Good day, Alpha.”

Brandon’s voice came through, calm but leaving no room for argument.

“Bernard, come to my duty chamber. Now.”

Bernard frowned. “Can it wait? I’m at Silverville Estate going through today’s reports. It’ll take me at least forty minutes to finish these documents.”

“Leave it.”

Bernard looked down at the files spread across his desk.

“It’s important.”

“So is this.” Brandon’s voice stayed calm. “Drop whatever you’re doing and get here. Now. Come alone.”

Bernard was quiet for a second. Then he nodded, even though Brandon couldn’t see him.

“I’ll leave right away.”

The call ended, and Bernard lowered his device. Before he could slip it into his pocket, Elara had already walked over to him, concern written across her face.

“What’s wrong?”

He shook his head. “He didn’t say.”

She searched his face for a long moment. “Is it that serious?”

Bernard slipped the device into his pocket and reached for his keys. “If Alpha Brandon calls me away without giving me an explanation, then it’s serious.”

Elara nodded slowly. She didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she took his hand and held it for a moment.

“Drive carefully.”

“I will.”

“And don’t forget to eat.”

A small smile appeared on his face. “I’ll try.”

She gave him a look that made him chuckle.

“I’m serious, Bernard.”

“All right,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll eat.”

“Good.”

He stepped closer and kissed her forehead gently. When he pulled back, he kept hold of her hand for another moment.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

She smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze. “I’ll be here.”

Bernard returned the squeeze before reluctantly letting go. He walked out of the house, and Elara stood where she was, watching until the front door closed behind him.

—

About forty minutes later, Bernard’s car rolled through the wrought-iron gates of Nightclaw Estate.

The guards recognized him immediately and opened the gates without delay.

He drove up to the main entrance, where a valet was already waiting.

“Welcome back, Mr. Bernard,” the valet said with a respectful nod.

“Thank you.”

Bernard handed him the keys, and the valet drove the car toward the estate’s private parking area.

He headed inside. The guards along the hallway saluted as he passed, and he acknowledged them with a nod before making his way to Brandon’s duty chamber.

He knocked once.

“Come in.”

He opened the door and stepped inside.

“You wanted to see me.”

Brandon motioned to the chair in front of his desk.

“Have a seat.”

Bernard rested a hand on the back of the chair but didn’t sit.

“What’s going on?”

Brandon picked up a tiny encrypted storage chip from his desk and held it out.

“I need you to check what’s on this.”

Bernard took the chip and turned it over between his fingers.

“Where did you get it?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Brandon met his eyes. “See what’s inside first.”

Bernard nodded. He crossed to the secure workstation, switched it on, and waited for the system to load.

Then he inserted the chip into the encrypted reader connected to the workstation.

A loading screen flashed across the monitor.

ACCESS DENIED.

“Military-grade encryption,” Bernard murmured. “Whoever stored this didn’t want anyone getting in.”

Brandon folded his arms across his chest as he watched Bernard work.

“Can you break it?”

Bernard didn’t look up from the monitor. His eyes remained fixed on the stream of data moving across the screen.

“Give me a little time.”

The quiet chamber filled with the soft, steady tapping of keys. Bernard’s fingers moved quickly over the keyboard while lines of code scrolled down the monitor faster than most people could follow. He paused for a moment, entered another command, then his brows slowly drew together.

“They’ve built in a countermeasure.”

Brandon’s expression hardened.

“What kind?”

“If I keep forcing my way in, the chip could wipe itself clean.”

Brandon pushed himself away from the desk and walked over to stand beside him. His gaze settled on the screen, watching the encrypted data flicker across it.

“So we only get one shot.”

Bernard gave a slight nod without taking his eyes off the monitor.

“Looks that way.”

He leaned in a little closer, studying the layers of encryption as another string of symbols flashed across the display. The more he examined it, the more impressed he became.

“This wasn’t designed by an ordinary programmer.”

Brandon glanced at him.

“Can you still get in?”

“I can.” Bernard rested his fingers on the keyboard again, a faint smile touching his lips. “I just have to convince the system that I’m supposed to be here.”

He pressed Enter, then followed it with another series of commands. A progress bar appeared on the screen and began moving forward at a painfully slow pace.

Five percent.

Twelve.

Twenty-three.

The study fell silent again. Brandon didn’t speak. He simply stood beside Bernard with his eyes locked on the monitor, watching every small increase as though willing it to move faster.

Bernard finally broke the silence without looking away.

“If this reaches one hundred, we’re in. If it doesn’t…” He released a slow breath before finishing quietly, “…we lose everything on this chip.”

Neither of them spoke again.

The progress bar continued its slow climb.

Thirty-nine percent.

Fifty-two.

The progress bar climbed to sixty-eight percent.